maia ੈ✩‧₊˚

"You see, Wendy, when the first baby laughed for the first time, its laugh broke into a thousand pieces, and they all went skipping about, and that was the beginning of fairies."

Peter Pan is so much more than it seems. It touches on themes of childhood vs. adulthood, the fear of growing up, motherhood, abandonment, memory, fairness, and acceptance.

A lot of the characters are metaphors (Peter is childhood, Hook is adulthood, the ticking crocodile is time). I think this book may be aimed more at adults than at children, as longing return to a carefree childhood is a feeling adults can relate to (whereas children are still living it). The omniscient narrator even explains that “we too have been [to Neverland]; we can still hear the sound of the surf, though we shall land no more,” now that we are adults and can no longer access the land of children's imagination.

I think this story is beautiful, but it's also a product of its time. There are some passages that I wish weren't included in the novel (most notably the Native American stereotypes), but overall this was a magical read that hit me with a wave of childhood nostalgia.

this book really hit home for me as a mixed chinese daughter. the intertwining stories of chinese generations were complex and heartbreaking.

I related to the chinese-american daughter's regret in never getting to truly know her mother and her struggles, and feeling disconnected from being “truly” chinese. this was really good

This was vulnerable and heartbreaking and I hope Jennette takes off as a writer so she can spend the rest of her life pursuing a career she actually enjoys. The audiobook was incredible, it felt so personal having Jennette voice her memoir. I will also buy the physical copy so I can help her gain back the hush money she turned down. As someone who reads pretty much only fiction, this book makes me want to read more memoirs.. so that's saying something.

after finishing this ali hazelwood trilogy, i've compiled a checklist of recurring motifs:

- HULKING HUGE broad guys
- henley shirts (black for adam, light blue for levi, green for jack)
- PAINFUL miscommunication and self-gaslighting
- no protection..???
- antagonistic and unapproachable
- green panties, green eyes, green henley, green chair, green.. (this might be her favourite colour)

The Skull is a great story that can be interpreted in different ways. It leaves enough to the imagination that kids can make it their own story, and give their own reasoning to the characters and their past. It's an engaging page turner with simple prose and great for all ages to enjoy. The illustrations are so clean, creative and full of texture (he put graphite shavings on a scanner and inverted the colour to make the snow??). I recommend The Skull to anyone looking for a quick, spooky, and heartwarming story.

Personal: Jon Klassen had an artist talk and book signing, and I got a free copy of The Skull (which is great because I already had it on my tbr)! I really enjoyed hearing about his artistic process, his insight into illustrating and writing books, and his philosophy on art. I learned that he also worked on coraline, that's so cool!! His talk was very inspiring and I learned a lot from him as an artist :)

"Remember that anything worth doing is worth doing half-assed"

This is short and so sweet. I am a perfectionist that can be self-critical when things don't meet my standards, and this book is like a hug. It focuses on cleaning, organizing, and self-care for people with depression, ADHD, autism, and those generally struggling with executive functioning. She also discusses race, class, and gender when talking about the culture of cleanliness.

I related to K.C. on a few things, like needing to put a timer on for laundry or I will inevitably forget about it (although recently I still forgot my clothes in the drier for over an hour after the timer went off because I got distracted), throwing clothes in bins without folding them, being messy but organized, and the not-quite-clean-not-quite-dirty laundry pile chair (f it works, it works!). I couldn't relate to some other aspects of the book, like having to clean up big messes made by two kids everyday, or not being able to keep up with personal hygiene habits (and therefore didn't find value in her advice in those sections), but that's ok. Even if you can't relate to all the struggles in this book, it will allow you to become more empathetic to those who do, and that's so valuable.

I only wish there was more practical advice to those of us that have the capability to execute them. I think that would expand the target audience and allow more people to walk away from the experience with more than just kind words.

edit: this book started me on an indie perfume rabbit hole (because nora kept mentioning that book scented perfume). i now have 20 perfume samples from 3 indie houses and my collection is only expanding. 4.5 stars thank you emily henry

this was a nice subversion from the small town romance trope!! the sisterhood/family theme was also cool. it just didn't make sense to me why the characters (nora and libby) were so immature. nora's a 32 year old lady for goodness sake, learn healthy communication D: (think the most satisfying part of this book was when nora made an appointment with a therapist lol)

love the film so i gave the book a listen, and i feel they made a pretty faithful adaptation from what i remember of the movie! full of plot twists and hidden storylines that are slowly revealed as the book progresses :)

also lol (slight spoiler?) and off topic but it seems like his qualifications for love is 1. has had ONE (1) full conversation with the woman and 2. last name nirdlinger

I cried at the end even though I've already seen the movie (multiple times). Mark's little end message was beautiful. The audiobook though!!! The audiobook narrated by R.C. Bray was fantastic, he really brought it to life!!

A bonus side effect of reading this was feeling my brain expand every time Mark explained anything he did. Funny and educational? Hooray for Andy Weir!! I have a martian shaped hole in my heart right now... time to rewatch the movie :P

I'm so conflicted... I don't know how to rate this. I really wanted to like this, I found the concept so interesting. However this book was hard to get through because the narrator is so insufferable. I understand that's the point. Everyone says you're not supposed to “enjoy” this book and it's supposed to satirize rich hot privileged white women, but is it even satire? Because Ottessa Moshfegh herself seemed hesitant to accept that label in her Waterstones interview.

I wouldn't call it satire, because satire is supposed to criticize its subject matter. Instead I see a shallow story told simply for shock value. The ending reaffirms this theory. I actually think Ottessa Moshfegh might've written this book to prove the narrator's idea in the last few pages. That “things were just things.” That art has no meaning. Which is a notion I fundamentally disagree with.

Or I could be wildly misinterpreting this whole book. Maybe I misconstrued the ending. Maybe the narrator is still the same vapid woman as she was before, and she wasn't actually healed. At least that would make some sense and provide some commentary. Either way, it put me in a bad mental state for a few days, and I can't give it a high rating because of this.

3.5 stars

pros:
- very insightful practical strategies on how to form good habits and break bad ones
- I did feel inspired to be more productive and found myself integrating some tips (allocate spaces to certain behaviours, change environment, verbalize actions)

cons:
- lots of self promo (at least in the audiobook) (“go to website to see graphs/media/template/etc.” and the only way to view the graphs/media/template is to enter email and sign up to newsletter)
- couldn't really stay focused during some info dumping over audio, probably would be better if I read the physical copy
TW: can trigger people with eating disorders (offhand comments about diets, cutting calories, food and weight tracking as “good habit” examples)

This was such a layered book to immerse myself in. The theme of the insurmountable barrier between classes was expanded beautifully into this elaborate story of Gatsby in his pursuit of the American dream.

I had an absolute field day covering this book in sticky notes and organizing themes, symbolism, motifs, characters, etc. by colour. The writing and characters are truly enchanting (props to Zelda) ;)

(I did not read this book in school because covid messed up the curriculum)

An atmospheric dystopian novel centering around a small anishinaabe community in northern canada. The mysterious global catastrophe serves as a backdrop to the small family's day to day life, and it was an interesting narrow perspective to read through. It felt very realistic, but I would've liked to get to know the characters a little more to balance out the lack of plot :)

Can AI develop a human sensibility? This was explored in Spider the Artist, and it was so so good.
Environmentalism. Critique of capitalism. Gender roles in Nigeria. The impact of infertility. Emotional healing with music. The sweet friendship between a human and AI. I didn't know 20 pages could be so captivating until now, and the imagery is so vivid. I could definitely see this as a film. I almost wish it was longer, so that I may have more time to sit and observe this world unfold before me.

Read for sci-fi and futuristic narratives elective.

edit: bumping it up a star because it fuelled a nightmare last night, so I guess it affected me more than I thought



SPOILER

I just wish it wasn't left so open ended and instead hinted towards the truth, because I was really looking forward to the direction the author would take in terms of resurrecting the son. It's super cool to see people's theories though

This small but powerful novella tells the story of one of the most important, yet heartbreaking, periods in Canadian history. The residential school system is a stain in our Canadian past that we can only make right by educating.

Wenjack is a beautiful retelling of the tragic story of Chanie Wenjack, a twelve year old Ojibwe boy who was torn from his family and forced to attend a residential school. I loved the switches in perspective between Chanie and the forest spirits. The illustrations at the beginning of every chapter were also wonderful. These aspects in the novella added to the spiritual realism of the story as well.

As a country, we pride ourselves on our inclusivity, but this book reminds us of our dark past. A must read for all Canadians.